The invention pertains to games of skill and chance in which a successful play results in delivery of at least one of a plurality of displayed prizes. More particularly, it relates to an arcade game in which an article is dispensed from a pivotally mounted supply container responsive to a player""s action.
Merchandise games combine games of skill or chance with features of check operated vending machines. Although the prior art of check operated article dispensing machines provides many different delivery mechanisms, these are generally directed toward providing reliable operation and assuring that each actuation of the machine results in delivery of a selected product. Merchandise games, on the other hand, are intentionally less deterministic in their operation and require both a payment and a successful completion of a game of skill or chance to determine just what is to be delivered. Some such machines are configured to deliver one selected article on each actuation, as well as another xe2x80x9cprizexe2x80x9d article subject to a successful play. Others deliver one article per play, but allow the outcome of the game to determine the value or identity of the article delivered. Yet others deliver nothing unless the play is successful.
Exemplar merchandise games described in the patent literature are:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,157, wherein Halliburton teaches a merchandise game comprising a mechanism for moving a prize-engaging object vertically and horizontally across the face of the game in a successful play of Halliburton""s game a ram moves into a prize-containing chamber responsive to a player""s action and knocks a prize out of the back of the chamber into a delivery chute.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,868, wherein Norton discloses a dump truck game in which a toy truck oscillates laterally in front of the player at a fixed speed until a player supplies an input at a player-selected instant in order to begin a dump operation that drops a prize-containing ball onto a playing surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,935, wherein the inventor teaches a merchandise game in which a continuously moving component is halted responsive to a player""s input and one of a plurality of visible items of merchandise is dispensed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,340, wherein Ibe et al. teach a merchandise game having a grabbing mechanism that moves away from a player on a telescoping arm to grab a prize and pull it forward to a delivery chute near the face of the game.
One of the features of the invention is that it provides an arcade merchandise dispenser that delivers a visibly displayed article from one of a plurality of pivotally mounted trays if a user causes an oscillating tripper to strike a portion of the tray so as to lift it. In a preferred embodiment, the strikable portion of the tray is a finger or tab that protrudes forward from the tray towards the user.
Another aspect of the invention is that it provides a game of skill and chance in which a tripper, oscillating along a first axis at a constant rate, moves along a second axis, perpendicular to the first axis, responsive to a path-determining input from a player.
Yet another aspect of the invention is that it provides a method of operating an arcade merchandise game comprising a plurality of pivotally mounted trays. Each of the trays has a generally horizontal resting position in which a respective selected number of articles of merchandise may be placed on each of the trays, generally in a manner assuring that they are visible to a user of the game. A tripper, moving responsive to a user""s action, may strike one or more of the trays and pivot it into a tilted delivery position in order to deliver all, some, or none of the articles of merchandise from the struck tray to a delivery chute. The fraction of articles delivered from a struck tray may depend on a variety of factors including, but not limited to: the size, weight, and mass distribution of each of the articles; the extent of frictional or interlocking contact between various of the articles; the slipperiness of packaging materials encasing any of the articles; and the details of how the tripper contacts the tray.
Yet another aspect of the invention is that it provides an arcade merchandise dispensing apparatus comprising a tripper movable along two mutually perpendicular axes. In some embodiments of the invention the tripper is capable of pivoting an article-retaining tray into a delivery position only when moving in a first of two directions along a selected one of the axes, and is not capable of pivoting an article delivery tray into a delivery position when moving in the opposite direction along the selected axis.
A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a merchandise game having a generally vertically disposed transparent front panel behind which a plurality of hinged trays are mounted. Each of the preferred trays has a trip tab extending forward from the tray toward the front panel. A tripper initially oscillates at a fixed speed along a generally horizontal axis selected so that the tripper does not engage any of the trip tabs. Responsive to a player""s input, the tripper moves along a second, generally vertical, axis perpendicular to the first axis. If the tripper then strikes one of the trip tabs, the associated tray may be pivoted enough that one or more articles of merchandise disposed on the tray fall into a delivery chute.
A feature of some embodiments of the invention is a hingedly mounted tripper that can lift the front end of a struck tray when the tripper is moving upwards, and that can swing up and ride over any trip tab that the tripper strikes while moving downward to a starting position. A feature of some embodiments of the invention is the provision of at least one clear path along the second axis and a control system for moving the tripper downward along one of those paths either after a tripping event has occurred or after the trip finger has reached a position of maximum upward travel along the second axis.
Preferred embodiments of the invention comprise a trip sensor for detecting when a tripper has operatively contacted a trip tray and thereby delivered at least one article of merchandise. In some embodiments lacking a trip sensor, the tripper is arranged to move from a horizontal oscillation position to an uppermost travel position responsive to each player input. It will be understood that embodiments comprising the trip sensor may selectively operate in either manner.
In some modes of operation, the invention provides for stopping the oscillatory horizontal motion responsive to a user""s input so that the vertical motion is directed substantially straight up from a user-selected position. In other modes of operation, the horizontal oscillation continues during the course of a user selected upward excursion of the tripper. Moreover, some modes of operation allow more than one user input per play, so that the user can stop and restart the vertical motion some number of times while the horizontal oscillation is in process.
Although it is believed that the foregoing recital of features and advantages may be of use to one who is skilled in the art and who wishes to learn how to practice the invention, it will be recognized that the foregoing recital is not intended to list all of the features and advantages. Moreover, it may be noted that various embodiments of the invention may provide various combinations of the hereinbefore recited features and advantages of the invention, and that less than all of the recited features and advantages may be provided by some embodiments.